Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville was a model of tact and diplomacy at last night’s launch party for Peter Bradshaw’s comedy thriller, Night of Triumph, at Century on Shaftesbury Avenue.

In his first term at Cambridge, Bonneville played Romeo opposite Bradshaw’s Prince of Verona. The pair have remained friends, with Bonneville generously providing a puff on the cover of Bardshaw’s latest book. “Peter was a very good company actor,” said Bonneville. “But I can’t give any juicy details.”

Bradshaw, now the Guardian’s film critic, shared titbits about his giddy student nights with Bonneville but discretion forbids me from divulging more. The producer of their European tour, Adrian Harrison, has also been in touch offering promising memorabilia. “I have photos of young Bonneville (then going by his real surname Williams) with young Bradshaw,” he tells me. Watch this space.